The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Pennisetum setaceum and will be referred to hereafter by its cultivar name, ‘Sky Rocket’. ‘Sky Rocket’ represents a new cultivar of purple fountain grass; a warm-season, ornamental grass grown for container and landscape use.
The Inventors discovered and selected the new cultivar, ‘Sky Rocket’, as a culm sport of Pennisetum setaceum ‘Fireworks’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 18,504) during division of a stock plant of ‘Fireworks’ in a nursery in Alpharetta, Ga. in March of 2009.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar was first accomplished by culm division in Alpharetta, Ga. in May of 2009 by one of the Inventors. Asexual propagation by both culm division and stem cuttings has determined that the characteristics of this cultivar are stable and are reproduced true to type in successive generations.